Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Colubris CN/MSC-3200 Access Controllers

I've been working on a hotspot backend system for the last three months and its been in production for almost two months now. Since it has been working so well they want me to adapt it for use in hotels.

The currently installed hotels use a Colubris CN-3200 or a MSC-3200 Access Controller. These units can interact with a backend service in a number of ways. Currently they use a "NOC" method where they simply pass everything to a remote server and then the remote server authenticates the user so the user never actually uses anything on the access controller itself.

The method which I use is that the access controller makes the initial connection and then passes the user through to a remote server. The remote server then passes the user back to the access controller which then authenticates against the remote server. This might sound like more effort/waste but it offers far more flexibility - for example I can have a remote web server and a separate authentication server. This is identical to how the Mikrotik RouterOS systems work.

Given this tweaking my application isn't too difficult. Just a case of either setting or detecting which access controller is in use and make the necessary adjustments to the templates and database. I should have this done in a few weeks since I have to revamp some bits to optimise the process.

It would be interesting to try some more access controller brands and see if I can achieve some across market compatibility. Although I'm happy with the RouterOS and Colubris units - together they cover pretty much every purpose I can think of.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A friend of mine recently got his hands on a Colubris MSC-3200 to play with, but he doesn't know the default web login, and can't find the product manual anywhere. Would you happen to have any insight?

Anonymous said...

i have a cn3200 which was never really used. been in my closet for a few years. i've tried to use it today and can't even get into the programing menu rejects default password...can anyone help on this issue?

Anonymous said...

Nice social engineering attempt, anonymous! - in the real event that anyone might need support for this product, contact support through email at support@colubris.com or call the toll free number. It is true that none of the manuals are available for download on their site, due to obvious reasons.

Anonymous said...

social engineering?
wtf does that have to do with anything?

Default login is admin/admin

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Open the cover and you will find a reset button. Press it until the 3 LEDs start flashing. It will be reset to factory default. * The LEDs are not visible from outside.
The default login is admin as username and admin as password.
Cheers!!!
madness_rp@yahoo.com